Unfortunately, I won't be able to get the PPV. But I really think this is going to be one hell of a fight.

I caught the second Gatti-Ward fight on HBO last night. That it's that series that made me a boxing fan. I think Ward was about the toughest SOB on the planet. He just kept coming. Naturally, I'm rooting for Gatti.

I'm not the most educated boxing fan (see misspelling in the title), so I'm curious at what the more experienced fans have to say.

The general boxing concensus is that Gatti is way out of league, will put up a heck of a fight, but will lose an easy decision to Floyd. Of course, the general boxing concensus was also that Ricky Hatton was way out of his league and would get knocked out easily by Kostya Tszyu.

The line is basically that Gatti has a puncher's chance to knock Mayweather out, but in all likelihood Mayweather will dodge & weave his way to a clean, lopsided, frustrating decision.

The idea is that Ward, while an exciting opponent when paired with Gatti, isn't even in the same stratosphere as Mayweather. Mayweather's skills, most feel, will be far too much for Arturo Gatti to handle.

Indeed, neither of Gatti's last two opponents were really credible threats to a "credible champion" (James Leija is a former champion himself, and a good one, but at 38 he was past his prime). He's never really faced so pure a boxer as Mayweather.

Having said all this...

* Mayweather is stepping up in weight against a man who's 140 lbs doesn't include his 100 lbs of pure heart and the 10 lbs of iron in each fist. In short, Gatti is a far more solid 140 than Mayweather is, and the latter's speed may suffer for it.* Mayweather has never fought a guy with a chin like Gatti, or a guy with such devestating, out-of-nowhere KO power like Gatti. He won't be knocking Gatti out, that's almost for certain.* Mayweather is a cocky bastard who, if he is to be believed, thinks Gatti doesn't stand a chance in hell of even touching him, let alone hurting him. Overestimating a man as dangerous as Gatti has been the downfall of better men than Mayweather.

These three points mean Mayweather could be in for one of boxing's truly beautiful things: Comeuppance; a rude awakening; a really, really bad night.

My prediction though? Mayweather somehow manages to make the fight mediocre and breezes through with a decision based largely on quantity of punches and defense... without hurting Gatti. Boxing fans everywhere bemoan Mayweather, and continue passing on his fights in favour of Gatti's more exciting style.

My hope? Gatti knocks the woman-beating sunuvabitch out in another FotY candidate. Mayweather goes back to the drawing board, and Gatti gives us another year or two of the most entertaining boxing you'll ever see.

And once again I wear my heart on my sleeve. Though I respect his skills, I can't stand Mayweather!

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Post Fight:

Well, I have to admit I'm surprised -- while I didn't think Gatti could truly hang with Mayweather's skills, having really only a puncher's chance at victory, I didn't think Mayweather could really hurt him.

Count me wrong. Arturo had clearly had enough, and that beating was pretty convincing. Mayweather hurt him... didn't see that coming!

There was a major upset Saturday as the big favorite came into the ring over-confident, over-exerted himself trying for a first round knockout, and ended up getting knocked out himself. However (unfortunately for Arturo Gatti fans) none of this happened in the main event, but rather in the under card bout of Carlos Maussa vs. Vivian Harris. The Gatti - Mayweather fight went pretty much as everyone thought it would, though their hearts tried to convince them otherwise. Speaking of hearts, Gatti once again showed he has one of the biggest in the business, refusing to quit despite the beating Mayweather was giving him. Fortunately wiser heads prevailed, with Gatti's trainer Buddy McGirt stopping the fight.

What's next for Gatti? Well, in his own words:

Originally posted by Arturo GattiThat's it for me at 140. I'm going to step up to 147 for one more shot.

This seems to be the best move for Gatti. Despite his heart and determination Gatti just doesn't have the skills to compete with the talent at the top of the 140 pound division. Also, it will be better for his health to compete in a division closer to his natural weight.

As luck would have it, my neighbor ended up ordering the fight. I was pretty disappointed. Gatti couldn't do much of anything, and the fight started getting pretty uncomfortable to watch after round 3.

Originally posted by Downtown BookieThere was a major upset Saturday as the big favorite came into the ring over-confident, over-exerted himself trying for a first round knockout, and ended up getting knocked out himself. However (unfortunately for Arturo Gatti fans) none of this happened in the main event, but rather in the under card bout of Carlos Maussa vs. Vivian Harris.

Yeah, and Maussa should've been disqualified for decking Harris while he was laying on the ground. That was such a cheap shot.

I didn't think Maussa's punch while Harris was down connected to do any damage. How much money did Harris cost himself Saturday night? I shudder to think...

Big props to Max Kellerman for calling Mayweather-Gatti the "biggest mismatch on PPV since Lennox Lewis-Mike Tyson." After one round I felt like the kind of idiot who would have thought Tyson would beat Lennox for even giving Gatti a 1% chance to win the fight. I felt like I was watching Roy Jones-circa 1995.

Floyd's speed and his accuracy were incredible, and it's likely good for Gatti that Floyd wore the "pillow"-style Asian gloves because Gatti would've have real problems if Floyd had worn the "puncher's glove", though I suppose Floyd could've easily broken his hands on Gatti's face.

It'll be interesting if Hopkins beats Taylor (not guaranteed, IMO) to see if Floyd gets the #1 p4p distinction or if he has to share it with Bernard. I honestly don't see how anyone can say Floyd's NOT #1 without acknowledging that they are just honoring Hopkins' achievements. Does anyone really think that if Floyd at, say 150, fought Hopkins at 160 that Floyd wouldn't easily win? I think Floyd's on another planet right now compared to everyone else.